Handle fitted carton



P l- H. K. POWELL 2,296,229

HANDLE FITTED CARTON Filed March 11,1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Pox/165d,

p 1942. H. K. POWELL 2,296,229

HANDLE FITTED CARTON Fi led March 11, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. f/e/z yfz Famed,

BY @W Patented Sept. 1 5,

HANDLE FITTED CARTON Henry K. Powell, Chicago, Ill., asslgnor to Morris Paper Mills, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinols Application March 11, 1940, Serial No. 323,269

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a carton or the like which is termed of flexible materialjsuch as paper board, and fltted with a separately preformed handle whereby the carton may be carried conveniently.

A general object of the invention is the provision of such a handle-fitted carton construction which may be manufactured very economically and which is of such nature that the carton itself is collapsible to a flat form and may be set up and a separate handle attached to it by the user without requiring any special apparatus or additional fastenings for thehandle, and wherein the handle, after it is attached to the carton, may be swung either to an upstanding position where it may be grasped for carrying the carton or may be swung down flat against the surface of the carton for the purpose of disposing the handle in a position where it will not interfere with the stacking of cartons one upon another.

Another object of the invention isthe proviformed handle is connected directly with a wall portionof the carton, without requiring any intermediate journals, hinges or the like, and wherein the .handle may be used repeatedly, with a number of diflferent carton bodies.

,sion of such a construction in which the pre- Other and further objects of the invention will be pointed out or indicated hereinafter or will become apparent uponan understanding of the present disclosure or actual use of the devices.

For the purpose of aiding in an explanation of the invention, I show inthe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and hereinafter describe, certain forms in which it may be employed. It is to be understood, however, that these are presented merely for purpose oi illustration and that the invention may be embodied in various other forms and arrangements, and in practically'any type: of collapsible carton, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

In said drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of handle adapted for embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view oi the upper portion of a set-up carton showing such ahandle attached to it and inthe carrying position;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the carton but showing the handle in the stacking position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the same carton in collapsed condition and showing it arched or bowed to permit attachment of the handle to it;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another form of carton, designed particularly for the packaging and carrying of a plurality of bottles of beverage or the like, and showing a handle of a slightly diflerent form connected thereto and in the carrying" position; and

Fig. 6 is an end view illustrating the relationship oi' the upper portion of such a carton with bottles therein, to a superimposed similar carton, and showing the'handle in the stacking position.

The natureof the invention will be ascertained most quickly from a description of the particular examples here illustrated.

The invention is adapted for embodiment in almost any type of collapsible paper board carton, and in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 I show a conventional form of paper board carton which may be set up in rectangular form or collapsed to a flat folded form. This carton has a wall portion in which is provided with a pair of spaced handle receiving apertures I I, and for connection to said carton I provide a handle which may be of the form shown in Fig. 1, This handle is pre-iormed, and is of rigid character, being made of any suitable still material such as heavy metal wire. It has a ball with an upper portion l2 and depending parallel leg portions ll, which at their lower ends have-short laterally extending oilfset portions l5 and retainer portions l6 extending toward and approximately in alignment with each other from the outer ends 01' said ofiset portions IS. The

retainer portions 46 and oilsetportions I5 are of suitable size to thread into, the apertures ll oi the carton wall, and the leg portions l4, at their lower ends at least, are spaced apart the same distance as the said apertures H.

Such a handle may be attached to the carton when the latter is in its knocked-down or flat collapsed condition in which it is customarily supplied to the user. To effect this attachment oi the handle to the carton, one of the retainer members is is inserted through one of the apertures Ii, and then the collapsed carton is arched or bowed, approximately as illustrated in Fig. 4, sufllciently to permit insertion oi the other retainer member 86 through the other aperture ll. When the arched container is then released, it will spring back to approximately its normal flat condition, thus moving the apertures outwardly to the leg portions ll of the handle. In such -relationship, the retaining members i6 underlie the wall it and prevent withdrawal of the handle; thereby eilecting a secure connection of the handle to the carton.

When so attached, the handle may be swun to a carrying position, such as illustrated in Fig. 2,

where its bail portion l2 may be grasped by the hand and the carton carried conveniently in a pendulous position. In such relationship the wall III of the carrier rests and is supported upon the oil'set portions i5 and the retainer portions I8, thus providing a substantial support for the carton and its contents.

Inasmuch as the user, such as a retail merchant, may desire to keep a number of the cartons filled and ready for sale, it is desirable that the handle be movable to a .position where it will not interfere with the stacking of such packages one upon another. The construction above described permits this being done, as the handle may be folded down flat against the wall III, as illustrated in Fig. 3. In this relationship of the parts, the offset portions 15 extend through the apertures II and the retaining portions I6 underlie the wall It! and continue to retain the handle against detachment.

In the constructions shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the carton is of a 'sort designed for the packaging and carrying of six bottles of beverage. This carton is also collapsible to a flat form, as by folding its bottom panel [B on the medial crease line l9 so as to bring its side panels 20 in contact with each other. At their upper ends the side panels are connected in any suitable manner, as by means of top flaps 2| fastened together by staples 22, this forming a double upstanding wall portion of the carton. This wall portion is provided with apertures 24 extending through it and spaced to receive a handle of the form and in the manner above described. Here I show the bail portion of the handle equipped with a grip element 25 for grasping in the hand.

The handle is connected to this type of carton when the latter is in its flat collapsed condition, in the manner above descrlbed,-and in the carrying position the offset members l5 pass through the apertures 24, the leg portions i4 extending upwardly along one side of the wall portion 2! and the retaining members l6 extending alongside the opposite side of the wall portion 2| and serving to retain the handle against detachment.

In Fig. 6 the handle is shown in the stacking position, which permits a similar carton, filled with bottles, to be stacked on top of the bottles in a lower carton. Here the bottom portion of the upper carton is indicated at I8, and the lower portions of the bottles which it contains are indicated at B. Such superimposed carton rests on top of the bottles B of the subjacent carton, the handle having been moved to a position wherein its bail I2 is below the tops of the bottles and its leg portions l disposed angularly to the side surfaces of the wall portion 2|.

I claim:

1. A carton comprising a collapsible body member having a wall portion formed with handle receiving apertures therethrough and in spaced relationship, which wall portion is flexible to an arched form in the collapsed condition of the body member so as to bring said apertures closer to each other, and a pre-formed rigid handle comprising a bail portion having at its ends laterally offset portions spaced from each other a distance corresponding to the spacing of the handle receiving apertures and retainer portions extending toward each other from the outer extremities of the laterally ofiset portions, said retainer portions and laterally offset portions each being of a length exceeding the maximum dimension of respective handle'receiving apertures and of cross-sectional size such as to permit their being threaded longitudinally through the handle receiving apertures when said wall portion is in arched form to positions where they overlap surfaces of the wall portion and afford retaining supports for the body member, said handle while attached to the body member being movable to a position wherein the bail is alongside the wall portion and to another position where the ball is at right angles thereto.

2. A carton comprising a collapsible body member having a wall portion formed with handle receiving apertures therethrough and in spaced relationship, which wall portion is flexible to arched form in the collapsed condition of the body member so as to move the apertures toward each other, and a pre-formed rigid handle comprising a bail portion having at its ends legs with laterally offset portions which are spaced apart approximately the same distance as the handle apertures and retainer portions extending toward each other from the outer extremities of the laterally offset portions, said retainer portions and laterally ofiset portions each being longer than the maximum dimension of respective apertures and being of cross-sectional size such as to permit their being threaded longitudinally through the handle receiving apertures of the arched wall portion to positions where they overlap the wall portion and afford retaining supports for the body member, said handle while attached to the body member being movable to a position wherein the legs are alongside the wall portion and to other positions where the legs extend angularly therefrom, said body member having other wall portions connected to and extending angularly from said first mentioned wall portion when the body member is in set-up condition.

HENRY K. POWELL. 

